'Virgin Mary' sandwich back on eBay
Top bid reaches over $16,000 in second round of bidding
Wednesday, November 17, 2004 Posted: 3:54 AM EST (0854 GMT)

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- The people at eBay were no believers in this cheesy miracle: half of a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich whose owner claimed it bore the image of the Virgin Mary.

Diana Duyser put the sandwich up for sale last week, drawing bids as high as $22,000 before eBay pulled the item Sunday night. The page was viewed nearly 100,000 times before being taken down.

An e-mail Duyser received from eBay said the sandwich broke its policy, which "does not allow listings that are intended as jokes."

But, Duyser, a jewelry designer who has bought and sold items on eBay for two years, insisted this was not a laughing matter.

"How could eBay do this to me?" Duyser said Monday, hours before the online auction was supposed to have ended.

On Tuesday, the Web site allowed bidding to resume, with the top offer reaching over $16,000. Bidding is scheduled to end Monday.

Company spokesman Hani Durzy said the listing was mistakenly removed because officials doubted whether Duyser could deliver the product.

"After looking at it a second time, there's nothing to indicate that the seller isn't willing to give up this cheese sandwich to the highest bidder," he said. "We're going to allow it to stay up."

In mocking response, two similar items were posted later -- grilled cheese sandwiches bearing the images of the Virgin Mary's used chewing gum and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Duyser thought eBay would be the best place to show off the sandwich, made on plain white bread with American cheese. It was cooked with no oil or butter.

Duyser, 52, said she took a bite after making it 10 years ago and saw a face staring back at her from the bread. She put the sandwich in a clear plastic box with cotton balls and kept it on her night stand.

At first, she was scared by the image, "but now that I realize how unique it is, I wanted to share it with the world," Duyser said.